EEOC Sues Hufcor for Sexual Harassment and Retaliation

Company Did Not Stop Harassment and Punished Employee for Her Complaints, Federal Agency Charges

MILWAUKEE, Wis. - Hufcor, Inc., of Janesville, Wis., the world's leading manufacturer of operable and accordion partitions, violated federal law by allowing a female machine operator to be sexually harassed and then retaliating
against her for resisting that harassment, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit filed today.

According to John Rowe, director of the EEOC's Chicago District, which includes Wisconsin, the agency's investigation revealed that Katy Degenhardt, who worked as a machine operator at Hufcor's Total Quality Plastics (TQP) division in
North Prairie, Wis., from May 7, 2007, to Feb. 20, 2013, was touched inappropriately on a regular basis by her shift coordinator for three years until he was finally fired in May 2012.

Rowe said the EEOC found that Degenhardt repeatedly reported the harassment and the retaliation to which she was subjected to Hufcor and TQP officials, but the plant manager retaliated against her for her complaints by denying
her breaks, assigning her difficult work, trying to reduce her wages, denying her advancement opportunities and taking other adverse actions. Rowe said that co-workers supported Degenhardt's claim that she was punished where
others were not punished for the same actions, and that Hufcor and TQP did not take corrective action until Degenhardt hired a lawyer.

TQP ceased operations in July 2013. Hufcor's alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits sexual harassment and retaliation for complaining about it. The EEOC filed suit after
first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process. The agency seeks compensatory and punitive damages for Degenhardt, an order barring future discrimination and other relief. The
suit, captioned EEOC v. Hufcor, Inc., d/b/a Total Quality Plastics (Civil Action No. 2:14-cv-1186), was filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin in Milwaukee and assigned to U.S. District Judge
Callahan.

"Sexual harassment is utterly unacceptable in a 21st century American workplace," Rowe said. "No one should ever have to endure such misconduct, and the EEOC is here to help victims fight it and achieve justice and
civility where they have to work every day."

EEOC Trial Attorney Dennis McBride who will litigate the case on behalf of the agency, said, "Despite the focus on sexual harassment over the past 20 years, it continues to be an area which demands our attention-especially where
women are working in male-dominated environments. Retaliation against employees exercising their rights to complain about mistreatment is also an ongoing problem the EEOC needs to combat. And fighting discrimination is
always in the public interest. So we have at least three important reasons for pursuing this case."

EEOC Chicago Regional Attorney John C. Hendrickson said, "Our experience has been that sexual harassment is a violation which effective management can readily avoid if it is determined to do so. If word comes down from the
top-and is understood to be serious-that management will not stand for harassment and retaliation and people who engage in it do so at the risk of their jobs, it has a way of going away. On the other hand, in the absence of
good management, sexual harassment and retaliation can quickly get out of control and expose the employer to a serious risk of loss."

According to its website, Hufcor is a privately held U.S.A. corporation and is the world's leading manufacturer of operable and accordion partitions. Hufcor is headquartered in Janesville, Wis., and also has manufacturing
facilities in Australia, China, Germany, Malaysia and Mexico. Its export markets are Western Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Australia, Europe, Canada and Mexico.

The EEOC's Chicago District Office is responsible for processing charges of discrimination, administrative enforcement and the conduct of agency litigation in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin,
with Area Offices in Milwaukee and Minneapolis. The case will be litigated by attorneys in the Milwaukee Area Office.

The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting discrimination in employment. Further information about the agency is available on its website at www.eeoc.gov .